Choices, Choices, Choices!

Hello Stamping Friends! I need to start out with two apologies- first of all, I am SO sorry that I haven't been posting regularly. Life has been crazy busy lately. I was supposed to attend my first craft fair last Saturday and spent two weeks preparing for it and then- IT SNOWED! I didn't get to go the fair after all and was very disappointed, but I do have lots of cool things to use as gifts. I will get some pictures taken and show them to you very soon! The second apology is for the photography on this blog post. I promised to post my pictures for my next and final Christmas card buffet today and I didn't get finished with the last card until it was already dark. Nighttime card photography is definitely not the best, but hopefully you will be able to tell enough about the cards to make your choices.

Here is the mini muffin tin advent calendar. I was really pleased with how it turned out. I really like the Letters for Santa DSP for this project. Each numbered cover has magnets on the back, so it can be hung and the covers won't move. Because this is made with a muffin tin, you can give a little treat on each day as you count down to Christmas. The first picture shows the entire project and the next two are close ups to show a little more detail. I hope you like it!



Supplies Used:
Stamps: 25 & Counting
Paper: Letters to Santa DSP, Old Olive CS, Riding Hood Red CS, Marina Mist CS, Early Espresso CS, Whisper White CS
Ink: Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Marina Mist, Blushing Bride, Staz On
Accessories: mini muffin tin, scalloped square punch, 1" square punch, Cherry Cobbler 1 1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon

On to the card choices for the buffet! When ordering your cards, please call them by the name posted directly above each card. This will ensure that I prepare the correct supplies for you. Thanks!

Welcome Christmas

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Welcome Christmas, Netting (background), Pines and Poinsettas, Petite Pairs
Paper: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper EF, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Cherry Cobbler quilted satin ribbon, basic pearls, stampin' sponge
CASE of this card made by Jen Sannes


Wreath

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Perfect Punches
Paper: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Brushed Gold
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Big Shot, Petal-a-Plenty EF, 2 3/8" scalloped circle punch, 1 3/4" scalloped circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, dimensionals, sponge
CASE of this card by Dawn Olchefske


Snowman

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Snow Much Fun, Christmas Greetings
Paper: Pool Party, Blushing Bride, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Staz On, Basic Gray marker, Pool Party marker, Blushing Bride marker, Peach Parfait marker
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Snowflake punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, basic rhinestone, shimmer spray (lots of it!)
CASE of this card made by LeeAnn Greff

Christmas Tree

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Bright Hope, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Island Indigo, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Island Indigo, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Silver Glimmer paper, Baja Breeze seam binding, Scallop Oval punch, Large Oval punch, shimmer spray (sprayed heavily!)

A Marla Reed Original! :)

OK, I hope that you like the cards and calendar. I tried to provide a mixture of traditional and non-traditional along with a couple of different styles. If you are coming to the class on November 19th, please email me (reedmarla@comcast.net) with you preorder no later than 9:00 p.m. this Sunday, November 6th. Thanks and I hope to see you there!

~Marla



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Choices for Christmas Card Buffet #2

Hello there! My second Christmas Card Buffet is coming up on October 22nd. Below are the choices. If you plan to attend, please email me at reedmarla@comcast.net to let me know which designs you would like to make as well as how many of each design. Please call the cards by the name posted above them. Thanks!


The Sounding Joy...
Supplies Used:
Stamps: The Sounding Joy
Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: Big Shot, Snow Burst EF, Crumb Cake seam binding
Case of this card made by Marie Shaughnessy

Snow Much Fun...
Supplies Used:
Stamps: Snow Much Fun
Paper: Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon, Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Big Shot, Northern Flurry EF, 2 Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Blender Pens, Baja Breeze seam binding
CASE of this card made by my friend, Rita Wright

Christmas Tree...
Supplies Used:
Stamps: Pennant Parade, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Lucky Limeade, More Mustard
Accessories: Big Shot, Petals-a-Plenty EF, brayer, 2 1/2" circle punch, 2 3/8" scalloped circle punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Cherry Cobbler quilted satin ribbon

Holly, Jolly Christmas...
Supplies Used:
Stamps: Festive & Fun
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon, Riding Hood Red, Pool Party, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Stripes EF, Chocolate Chip scallop dots ribbon, Scallop Trim border punch, dimensionals, glue dots
CASE of this card made by Chris Smith

I hope you liked these cards! If you are local, please plan to attend this fun class and leave with a whole stack of Christmas cards to give to your friends and family!

Have a wonderful day!

~Marla Pin It

Cookie Stamps for a Good Cause!

Hi there, stamping friends! Stampin' Up! has a brand new product available- Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps! These stamps are not for paper and ink, but for cookie dough. All you do, is prepare your cookie recipe (there are two included with the stamps) and stamp the shape you want into the dough. These are great fun for kids and would make an excellent gift!

To make them even sweeter, I have decided to donate all of my commission on the sale of these stamps to two awesome organizations that assist families battling childhood cancer. A friend of mine has a little girl named Jessica who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when she was five years old. I am happy to report that Jessica is now seven years old and just completed her final chemo treatment. Her mom founded an organization called Jessica Rocks which supports another organization called Timmy's Fund. Timmy Quigley was diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumor at the age of two and unfortunately did not survive. His parents founded Timmy's Fund to assist other families who were battling childhood cancer. They assist with transportation, food, and lodging expenses for all families who have children being treated for cancer at West Virginia University's Children's Hospital. The best part is that 100% of the donations collected goes directly to the families.

Any time anyone purchases this product from me, $3.39 will be donated to Jessica Rocks/Timmy's Fund. You can help by making a purchase or by collecting orders from your family and friends. If you are able to sell ten sets of the Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps, it could be entered as your own workshop order and you would raise $33.90 for these awesome charities and you would also earn $25 in free Stampin' Up merchandise.

Please click on the links above and read more about these incredible charities. Send me an email at reedmarla@comcast.net if you would like to place an order, collect your own orders, or you would like additional information.

Thank you!

~Marla

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Spice Cake Lollies

Hello again, stamping friends! I have a non-card project to share with you today. When I went to Convention, there were lots of incredible demonstrations where they made adorable boxes, home decor items, and gifts. I was very inspired to branch out a bit with my crafting and try to make some things other than cards.

I just loved this little project. I saw something similar on Heather Summers' blog and decided to try it for myself. I used the new Simply Scored tool to make these little lollies. They are easier to make than I thought that they would be. I finished off the project with a small terra cotta pot, a styrofoam ball inside the pot to hold the sticks in place, lollipop sticks, Spanish moss and a hot glue gun.

We made these at my first team meeting and I am going to give one to the hostess of my workshop that is later this evening. She is a good friend, club member, and loyal customer, so I wanted to do something extra special for her.



Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Paper: Spice Cake DSP, Soft Suede CS, Pool Party CS, More Mustard CS, Very Vanilla CS
Accessories: Simply Scored, scalloped circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Blossoms Triple Layer punch, 1" circle punch, antique brads, in color brads, sticky strip

I hope that you like this project and that my hostess likes it too! Have a fantastic weekend! Thanks for stopping by! Check back next week for more projects!

~Marla Pin It

The Sounding Joy

Hello again!

Two postings in two days! Don't any of you go into shock! I'm trying to do better about stamping at least two or three days a week and stamping for fun more often (instead of just when I'm prepping for an event). I am loving all of the challenge sites out there. They are really great. I made this card for two different challenges- Freshly Made Sketches and Hand Stamped Sentiments. I haven't played along with Hand Stamped Sentiments before, but when I saw that this weeks challenge was to use embossing, I had to do it. I love embossing of all types. Nothing gives a card that WOW effect like embossing. I used two types of embossing on this card- dry embossing and heat embossing. I tried something that I had never done before on this card. I sponged the edges of the image panel using Versa Mark ink and then sprinkled silver embossing powder over the sponged ink and heat set it. I really like the effect that it gave. I don't think that I have ever seen this done before, but decided to try it because sponging with classic ink just didn't do it for this card.

I used a brand new stamp set, The Sounding Joy, on this card. It is in the holiday mini catalog and it arrived on my doorstep just about two hours ago. This has to be a new record for how quickly I made a card with a new stamp set! I also used another holiday mini item- the Snow Burst embossing folder. I love the super deep impressions that it makes!



Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: The Sounding Joy
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Brushed Silver, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Not Quite Navy (for sponging the edges of the stars), Baja Breeze, Versa Mark
Accessories: Big Shot, Show Burst embossing folder, heat tool, silver embossing powder, sponge
Techniques: Heat Embossing, Dry Embossing, sponging

I hope that you liked this card! If you need some inspiration, check out the challenge sites that I linked above. Have a great day!

~Marla

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Halloween Treats

Hello again! Can you believe how quickly time is flying???? My son has already been in first grade for almost a month! Fall is upon us and Halloween is just a few short weeks away! I have been busy planning for my next class on October 7th. It is a class to make Halloween treat holders and I'm really excited about it. It is the first class that I have ever done that is not a card making class- can you believe it? I think we will have a lot of fun and I really like all of the cute ideas I found when looking for projects to make. It had a hard time deciding, but I finally narrowed it down to these three choices-



Aren't they the CUTEST?

This class is being done buffet style. Everyone who is attending can make as many or as few of each treat holder as they like. They just need to preorder the treats that they wish to make by this Friday, September 23rd. Each treat holder is individually priced, but everyone attending can get them for half-price by placing a $20 order on the day of the class. Here are some close-ups and more information on each project.

The owl:


Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Paper: Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Cajun Craze
Accessories: Big Shot, Pillow Box die, Fancy Fan Letterpress Plate, Hearts Trio punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Blossom Petals punch, basic rhinestones, glue dots, sticky strip

I originally saw this little guy on Pinterest and there was a link to a great little tutorial that you can find here. My friend, Rita Wright, also made her own version that you can see on her blog. I love the matching card that she made in addition to the little owl. These treat holders will hold several small pieces of candy or a small bag of M&M's and cost $1 each (or $.50 if a $20 order is placed at the class). If you are preordering this treat holder, please tell me how many you would like to make of "the owl".


The bat:

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: White Gel Pen
Accessories: Big Shot, Petal Cone die, Spider Web embossing folder, circle punch, shimmer spray

I saw this adorable bat on Shelli Gardener's blog. She is the CEO of Stampin' Up and demonstrated making one at a regional event. He is pretty large (about 4 1/2" tall) and will hold lots of candy. Each of these will cost $1 (of $.50 if a $20 order is placed the day of the class). If you would like to preorder this one, please tell me how many you would like to make of "the bat".


The bag topper:

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits
Paper: Old Olive, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 1x8 cello bags (not pictured), scalloped square punch, 1" square punch

These bag toppers will be perfect for making treats for an entire classroom of children. They will be used with the 1"x8" cello bags and will hold pencils, pixie sticks, smarties, etc. I will have the entire stamp set called "Spooky Bingo Bits" so that you can choose the stamped image that you would like to use. These treats will cost $.50 each (or $.25 if a $20 order is placed the day of the class). If you would like to preorder this treat, please tell me how many you would like to make of "the bag topper".

I hope you liked these projects! If you are planning to attend this class, please be sure to preorder no later than this Friday, September 23rd! Thanks for stopping by!

~Marla

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Another Challenge Card!

Hello again, stamping friends! Why didn't anyone ever tell me how much fun I would have participating in challenges? They are a blast! As it turns out, I do enjoy designing my own cards! Who would have guessed? I participated in the sketch challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches once again this week. I really like the sketches they have chosen. Go on over and check them out! Here is this week's sketch if you'd like to play along!




Here is my take on their sketch:


Supplies Used:
Stamps: Raining Flowers, Petite Pairs, Netting (background)
Paper: More Mustard, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Spice Cake DSP
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso
Accessories: Simply Scored, Early Espresso satin ribbon (retired), Scalloped Oval punch, Large Oval punch, sponges
Techniques: grid technique, sponging, gathered ribbon

I decided to make a standard 4 1/4"x 5 1/2" card rather than the square because I don't keep a lot of 12x12 paper on hand. There are a few elements of this card that I tried for the first time. The first is the technique that I used on the stamped image. It is called the grid technique and you can find an awesome tutorial here on splitcoast. My card ended up being a CASE of the card shown in the tutorial although I didn't really intend for it to be. I had seen the tutorial a while back and thought "That would be a good way to use the Raining Flowers stamp set." I guess that idea stuck in my mind when I sat down to make this card because my finished product looks very similar to the example. Oh well! The second new element I tried is the gathered ribbon. It was very simple to do. I placed a piece of sticky strip on the front of my card where I wanted the gathers. I attached a short length of ribbon and then doubled a little bit over what was already attached and then attached a little bit more until I had the look that I wanted.

Overall I am pretty happy with this card and I'm thinking that I may try a few more cards using the grid technique. It is a quick and easy way to give the stamped image a little extra visual interest!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Marla Pin It